An over-50s group has accused a council of ignoring its pleas for official parking provision for large mobility scooters at a new bus station.
In April, Brian Todd, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Older Person’s Forum, raised concerns over there being no allocated spaces for large class three mobility scooters at the £5m Blackburn bus station development.

But since then, Mr Todd said he has been unable to persuade the council to allocate spaces which he would like to see at the white wall at the Church Street/Salford end of the bus station.

Brian Todd, who said the need for mobility scooter parking spaces should have been included in the design of the Ainsworth Street bus station which opened last May, said: “I still feel like I’m not being listened to. It’s very frustrating. Class three size mobility scooters are too large for the buses, unlike the class one and class two mobility scooters, so we therefore need somewhere to park at the bus station before we get on the buses. But the council still aren’t allowing this for safety and insurance reasons.”

Mr Todd said he has sent letters to all the councillors on Blackburn with Darwen Council asking them if they would support parking for large mobility scooters within the bus station – but that only four have responded.

A spokesperson for Blackburn with Darwen Council said the authority ‘regret’ being unable to allow vehicles to be stored or parked in the bus station, as they ‘cannot accept liability for damage or theft.’

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